The Happy Body – by Aniela and Jerzy Gregorek

After hearing Jerzy Gregorek on the Tim Ferriss Podcast, I was so impressed that I immediately ordered his book, The Happy Body, on Amazon. I sat down to read it and finished the entire 280-page book, cover to cover, in two days. I’m a slow reader, but this book was so good and so easy to read that I burned through it.

The book is filled with wisdom. The title, as cheesy as it is, is very fitting. Jerzy and his wife, Aniela, explain so that anyone can understand the principles of having a healthy body. The 6 characteristics of youth as the Gregoreks call it are flexibility, strength, speed, good posture, lean, and ideal body weight.

Jerzy’s standards for these 6 characteristics are top notch. He has strict, measurable standards. Standards are something that all personal trainers should use but few do. For example, his standard for strength is the squat press at 58% body weight, and his standard for leanness is 10% body fat for men and 13% body fat for women. He gives information that everyone knows, but his book cuts through the B.S. and gets right to the point.

Jerzy has a big portion of the book dedicated to figuring out your ideal body weight. He uses a chart that most people, when they first look at, say is too low to be my ideal body weight. Jerzy encourages you to trust him. He has detailed and exact instructions for how to measure your weight and body fat percentage. He then instructs you on how to figure out whether you need to gain or lose fat and lean body mass. Most people, of course, need to lose fat and gain muscle, but this is not true for everyone. Some people are extremely underweight and need to gain fat and muscle. Some people, like bodybuilders and NFL lineman, are too big and need to lose fat and muscle.  He breaks down all of the possible permutations for body types. There are 13 different body types and the Happy Body is one of them. The Happy Body is your ideal body weight at 10% body fat for men and 13% body fat for women.

Jerzy and Aniela then go on to explain how to exercise using the Happy Body sequences. There are 3 sequences of 6 exercises for a total of 18 exercises. The exercises are performed in such a way that they are posture correcting, meditative, a flexibility workout, and a strength workout. All of these exercises can be done in a very small space, like the size of a yoga mat. Many of the exercises use dumbbells.

I have a lot of experience with calisthenics, but I’ve always had a problem with lifting weights. This is mostly because I had a lot of injuries, starting with an ACL surgery when I was 16. I never found a good weightlifting teacher who could show me the proper way to do it and put me on a program which addressed my injuries. Well, after reading the Happy Body, I have found that teacher. The Happy Body program is a progressive exercise program that prepares you for Olympic Weightlifting. You start with either no weight or as little as 5 pounds. Then you build up over time, probably years, to being able to get yourself into proper Olympic Weightlifting positions. These exercises correct your posture, give you full flexibility, great strength, and teach you how to properly brace your abdomen. The big difference between this program and many other weightlifting programs that I have seen is that this program addresses flexibility and posture. The Happy Body program is supposed to be done every single day. They apply many of the other principles of training which have taken me many years to learn. Jerzy Gregorek has convinced me of the wonderful benefits of Olympic Weightlifting when done properly.

The Happy Body also includes a great eating plan with instructions on how to think about food based on your goals. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. The eating plan takes into account that we are not monks living on a mountain. He talks about how to deal with everyday pressures and plan your weekly eating schedule.

Overall, this book is fantastic. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get strong, flexible, fast, good posture, relaxed, and achieve their ideal body weight.